Although it is generally acknowledged that auto-phagy plays an important role in tumorigenesis and therapy, studies of autophagy in different cell types and under different conditions have led to conflicting theories regarding the influence of autophagy on cell death. In the present study, we explored the role of autophagy and its underlying mechanism in the inhibitory effects of arsenic trioxi...

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is one of the most effective therapeutic agents used for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The probable explanation for As2O3-induced cell differentiation is the direct targeting of PML-RARα oncoprotein by As2O3, which results in initiation of PML-RARα degradation. However, after injection, As2O3 is rapidly methylated in body to different intermediate me...

In the acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line NB4, as well as in APL patients' cells, arsenic trioxide (As2O3) leads to incomplete cell maturation, induction of apoptosis, as well as to the degradation of the oncogenic PML/RARalpha fusion protein. We have isolated an arsenic-resistant NB4 subline (NB4-AsR), which fails to undergo apoptosis, but maintains the partial differentiation respon...

MTLn3 cells derived from mouse mammary epithelium are known to be highly malignant and are resistant to both radio- and chemo-therapy. We exposed MTLn3 cells to various doses of inorganic Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) in combination with ionizing radiation. Cells were treated with a series of As2O3 concentrations ranging from 20 μM to 1.22 nM for 8 hour, 24 hour and 48 hour periods. Post-treated cel...

This paper describes the statistical analysis of a series of experiments using a simple biological model (wheat germination in vitro), where a large number of wheat seeds were treated with homeopathic potencies of Arsenic trioxide. Some potencies, such as As2O3 40x, 42x and 45x, have repeatedly shown a significant stimulating effect on germination compared to controls, whereas As2O3 35x has a s...

As2O3 has been reported to induce apoptosis and inhibit the proliferation of various human cancer cells. We evaluated the ability of a novel arsenic compound, As4O6, along with As2O3 in vitro and in vivo. To examine the levels of apoptosis of HPV 16-positive SiHa cervical cancer cell, flow cytometry and Western blotting were employed at various time intervals after two arsenic compound treatmen...

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is notorious for the metastases, which are in close association with Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been shown to induce apoptosis and differentiation in NPC xenografts. Then, can it repress the cancer cells' metastasis potential? To elucidate this issue, the present study was performed. LMP1-negative cell...

Arsenic is generally considered hypertoxic. However, it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times, to treat serious illnesses. Recently, a single dose of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been found especially effective in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Generally speaking, As2O3 is a more effective treatment of APL than other, newer medications and has less seve...

Recent data have renewed the interest for arsenic-containing compounds as anticancer agents. In particular, arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been demonstrated to be an effective drug in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia by inducing programmed cell death in leukemic cells both in vitro and in vivo. This prompted us to study the in vitro effects of As2O3 and of another arsenical derivativ...

Hyperoside (Hyp) is the chief component of some Chinese herbs which has anticancer effect and the present study is to identify whether it could enhance the anti leukemic properties of arsenic trioxide (As2O3) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We provide evidence on the concomitant treatment of HL-60 human AML cells with hyperoside potentiates As2O3-dependent induction of apoptosis. The activatio...